China’s structural reform clears way for tax cuts: CICC

BEIJING — China’s new round of structural reform should generate tax breaks and reduced fees, according to a report from the China International Capital Corporation (CICC).

The Beijing-based investment bank said that the reform would enable the government to cut spending by streamlining administration and improving efficiency.

“This allows the government to cut taxes and administrative fees without raising the deficit ratio, thereby invigorating the market and improving the quality of economic development,” said the report.

The government has proposed a reduction of over 1.1 trillion yuan in 2018, exceeding the 2017 figure, cutting taxes on businesses and individuals by more than 800 billion yuan (about $126 billion) while lightening the non-tax burden on market entities by over 300 billion yuan.

The fiscal deficit target has been lowered by 0.4 percentage points to 2.6 percent of GDP for 2018.

“The lower budget deficit ratio is in line with China’s move from high-speed growth to high-quality development and will help stabilize the macro leverage ratio,” said the CICC report.